Secondly, the community is also concerned about the environment. We put a high value on the air we breathe being clean and cars that have plumes coming out of their exhaust are no longer seem as the norm, but instead are frowned upon. In the DECC’s “Who Cares About the Environment Report”, people were asked about the most important issues they thought the NSW State Government should be dealing with. Environmental issues, climate change, water supply and energy reduction were all in list of the top eleven concerns. Notably, the younger generations were more likely to cite environmental matters, demonstrating that the next generation of car buyers will likely be more concerned with a vehicle’s fuel consumption and emissions compared with buyers from other generations. Therefore, Dealerships need to be equipped and ready to assist these customers. A tool that will enable Dealerships to do this is the Green Vehicle Guide website.

The website’s database contains vehicles manufactured since 2004 and includes 47 brands. Vehicles can be searched for easily using drop-down boxes and more than one vehicle can be entered at a time, allowing “green” comparisons to be made between various models.

The Green Vehicle Guide’s star rating is equally based on greenhouse and air pollution:



• Greenhouse Rating
  Using information from the vehicle’s fuel consumption label (litres consumed per 100 kilometres), the greenhouse rating is based on the average greenhouse gas emissions from a car. This information is sourced from the fuel consumption label, which is a label that is compulsory for all new vehicles being sold.
  
  Air Pollution Rating
  This measure takes in the pollutants in car exhaust fumes. Car fumes contain substances such as carbon monoxide, hyrdrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen. These sorts of contaminants can trigger health problems. Depending on the level of emission standards the vehicle reaches, the vehicle will be given an air pollution rating.
  The scores from these two determinants are combined to reach a number out of 20. This number then places the vehicle in a star category, ranging from one to five, with five as the best performing environmentally.

It is important to note that the Green Vehicle Guide only looks at these factors to determine the star rating of a vehicle. There are other environmental factors that are not taken into account, such as the materials that the vehicle is manufactured from and the emissions produced to make the vehicle. The Federal Government has determined that these factors are too difficult to quantify and are therefore not included.

How the Green Vehicle Guide can be a tool for Dealerships
The Green Vehicle Guide is quick, accessible and easy. Its star rating system gives both sales people and customers a “universal language” that is understood by both parties. You don’t need to be an environmental expert, you just need to know the star rating for the vehicle you are talking about. If a vehicle has three or more stars, it is a selling point of the vehicle that your potential customers need to be aware of. If the vehicle has four or five stars, then it becomes an even more crucial factor. Customers are interested (albeit to varying degrees) in the ongoing running costs and environmental impacts of the vehicle they are buying, so make sure you let them know when telling them about the vehicle they are interested in.

Simple steps to advertise your high performing vehicles

• Educate the Sales Department
  Make sure everyone that talks to customers is aware of the Green Vehicle Guide, including how to use it and its basic functions. More importantly however, ensure that the Sales Department knows which vehicles in the yard are the top rating ones. As the Green Vehicle Guide is an unbiased information source, it is very helpful when talking to customers.
  
  Communicate to Customers
  As well as the Sales Department communicating the environmental performance of certain vehicles verbally, why not do something visual so that browsing customers are made aware of a vehicle’s good star rating when looking at it in your showroom or yard? This could be having green star stickers that are stuck onto car windows (as long as it is clear what they are for) or the information added to the car’s specifications. In addition, you can obtain a free poster and some bumper stickers by requesting them on the Green Vehicle Guide website, which could be placed in your waiting area or reception.

It’s a great simple tool that can be used by Dealerships to easily communicate a vehicle’s achievements.